


Tell Me Again

by CyberSearcher



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alot of angst, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Forgivenshipping, Lloyd Garmadon Needs a Hug, M/M, This didn’t mean to get this sad but it did
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26304121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberSearcher/pseuds/CyberSearcher
Summary: Lloyd doesn’t like thinking about his past or his short - and arguably stolen - childhood. There aren’t many good things that he can name that happened to him. Not many good things happen to him in general. But there is one good thing.
Relationships: Lloyd Garmadon & Brad Tudabone, Lloyd Garmadon/Brad Tudabone
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Tell Me Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_tinman_was_pan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_tinman_was_pan/gifts).



> This was made for an art trade with the_tin_man_was_pan and frankly there should be more forgivenshipping in this fandom. Also it was sad. Very sad. I’m a little sorry Lloyd. 😅

Lloyd had seen this cafe destroyed at least three times. 

The first was the haziest; it was a few days after the Great Devour had been defeated. He could remember looking through the clouded window of Dareth's dojo and across the street. The entrance was nothing but rubble and some bent metal that could have once been chairs and tables. He could remember seeing the front slowly restored, with a name he couldn’t read framed with painted daisies. 

The second he tried not to think about too much. Lloyd could still see the oppressive shadows from the Overlord looming down from where Borg Tower would soon be. He caught sight of it as he stormed the streets in the golden mech. The white daisies were washed out and hazy, but they remained mostly untouched and unharmed. 

The third time left him feeling, to his surprise, mostly numb. Lloyd was glad for that. 

He watched from under his hoodie as workers went about pulling the boards nailed over the windows and scrubbing off the graffiti from the Sons of Garmadon. Despite everything that's happened, the place was still here and business was a steady trickle. There was a small tabletop game store down the street that had reopened too. He wondered if he’d have time to look through the window. 

Lloyd rubbed his palm against his cheek, his other hand wrapped around the lukewarm coffee cup. He could warm it up any time he wanted and what little he had drunk helped to perk him up. But the teen couldn’t find the energy to do either. He considered just leaving a gracious tip - the barista hadn’t called out his identity while he ordered - and going.

The child wondered if his dear great grandfather could hear or see everything that happened from the Departed Realm. He could recall thinking the same thing after his dad - his _real_ dad - had sacrificed himself. Now he glared up at the sky with bitterness always berating himself for not taking his chance to kick him in his babymakers. 

His instincts prickled and Lloyd noticed a trio of people move in sync across the far street, towards a bank that had only recently reopened. Lloyd knew there were only a small handful of guards on staff. He closed his eyes, folded his hands over his head and pressed his head against the table. Already his mind was spinning with possible criminals who could have broken free and battle strategies. 

“If something’s gonna happen, just get it over with.” Lloyd groaned. 

He’d gotten into the habit of always wearing his ninja gi under whatever he wore. So far, it was proving to be more useful than he’d ever hoped. 

There was the distant sound of an alarm that followed that thought after several long minutes of hoping he’d be wrong. Lloyd set down his cup, left an even more generous tip and thought how much it’d cost for the owners if the cafe had to be rebuilt again. 

He threw off his hoodie and pulled a small knife from his pocket, not having any discreet way to hide a sword in public. Lloyd climbed up a fire escape and dashed across the rooftops towards the bank. From his view in the air, he saw the massive cloud of acidic-green mist that filled the streets below. 

The smell was familiar to Lloyd; sweet and airy, but also saccharine and cloying. He saw people being pulled from the edges of the gas and coughing less than a few feet away. Pressing a hand over the cloth that covered his nose, Lloyd climbed to the building adjacent to the bank and searched for an entrance. 

The ninja knew that the safe was connected to the sewer systems, so he descended down a nearby drain and landed with hardly a splash. Navigating around the place was simple enough, following the trail that led to underneath the bank. Occasionally, he’d spot tags and graffiti plastered over clean patches of concrete. 

Most were illegible, sometimes he’d see a flower, Lloyd’s mind stretched with the groups of criminals that could belong to while creeping closer to whoever would be exiting through the banks underbelly. 

He waited behind a corner, listening for the clang of a grate or a blowtorch cutting through steel. Lloyd closed his eyes, squeezing his knife and readying his powers. There was a dull _’thunk’_ , followed by feet descending a ladder and several bags filled with something heavy hitting the ground. Mostly cash, but he could hear the soft rattle of jewelry. 

The ninja heard them congratulating one another in happy cheers. Suddenly, he frowned. They sounded familiar. 

A woman gave a cry of delight. “Holy sh - we actually did it! We actually - we got away with it!” 

“Of course we did,” said a nasally voice, “I made sure to account for guard shifts and our spies told us that there’d be little to no surveillance in place given the state of the city.” 

“Let’s not gloat before we get back, c’mon, I’ll help carry.” 

Lloyd didn’t let himself hesitate when he heard the trio begin to walk down his way. Closing his eyes, he gathered a flash of light in one hand and threw it at their feet. The afterimage of the burst burned behind his eyelids, but at least he wasn’t stumbling around half-blind. 

“Shit! Gene, Sal, run!” 

The ninja grabbed the arm of whoever was closest, jerked them forward and rammed his elbow into his face. Lloyd flipped the blade of his knife and threw it over the robber's shoulder. He heard a girl scream and heard the rucksack tear as cash poured out. The two were just out of range of another throw, so he turned his attention back to the one he had. 

He wore a mask that hid the lower face. Pulling it down, Lloyd froze. 

“Brad?” 

A punch to his guts made him stagger. Falling to his knees, the teen rolled back before the robber could bring a weapon down on his prone form. Brad pulled a hand crossbow from his back, glancing out of the corner of his eyes as he watched Sally and Gene escape down the tunnel. 

“It’s - I can’t believe it.” 

“So you still remember me?” He said cooly. “Had some spare time and decided to meet up with your best friend?” 

Lloyd didn’t know what to say. “When I heard that the school was disbanded, I couldn’t - I didn’t know what to do.” 

Brad took a step forward and raised the sight to his cheek. 

“You didn’t just leave me. You left all of us. Half of the kids didn’t have family to go back to, and the other half didn’t even wanna go back.” He glared. “Did you even look for them? Didn’t you care?” 

Lloyd could feel his emotions pushing against his skin. He kept them shut tight, but he still couldn’t look Brad in the eye. 

The teen suddenly screamed. Fueled with rage, Lloyd hastily blocked a wide punch, then sidestepped a kick that grazed his ribs. He shoved him back and Brad squeezed the trigger. The green ninja narrowed his eyes, bringing up his palm to slap the arrow out of the air. Gritting his teeth, he set a volley of bolts that Lloyd ducked and snapped out of the air. 

“Why! I thought we - I thought we were friends! Real friends! Why did you leave me? Why!”

One arrowhead cut across his cheek. The ninja hardly felt the sting of pain, but began to panic as he felt his mind begin to grow sluggish. 

Lloyd tried to lean against the walls, but his hand slipped on the wet stones. His old friend - _your fault, you did this to him, you didn’t do anything_ \- loomed by his feet, the last bolt pointed down at his chest. Even with his hazy vision, Lloyd could see the anger 

The boy couldn’t think of anything to say. He knew that the numbness wasn’t just from whatever poison Brad had used on him. Guilt and responsibility hung and squeezed his heart as he blinked away a lone tear. 

“If you’re going to do it, just… just do it.” Lloyd closed his eyes. 

He heard Brad’s breathing stop and stutter, the difference all the more noticeable in the silence of the sewers. Lloyd let his head fall limp to the side, cheek resting on the damp concrete. He waited for the press of steel, a pair of hands to snap his neck or the prick of a poisoned needle. 

Mustering the effort to look up, Lloyd was surprised with Brad’s expression. It was nothing short of shocked sadness. 

“What happened to you?” He asked. “Where’s the kid that helped me to stuff pillow cases full of dirt?”

“I guess he’s already dead.” Lloyd said quietly. He flinched at the sound of his own voice bouncing across the walls. 

Brad dropped his crossbow, the clattering was dull to Lloyds fading senses. He didn’t think he was dying - he knew what that felt like - but he was surprised to see the other teen kneel by his head.   
“The forests to the west, look for my flowers.” 

If Brad gave more instructions past that, Lloyd didn’t hear them. When he awoke next, he was lying in a stretcher in a paramedics van. There was also a small crowd of cameramen and reporters hoping to catch a quote from him about the break in. Lloyd instinctually sat up and searched for the security guards to get footage from the cameras. 

But he hesitated. He could have just told them who was responsible, but Lloyd wasn’t heartless. Pulling down his hood, he climbed back up the rooftops and hoped the reporters didn’t catch a glimpse of his conflicted expression. 

It felt like decades ago, but Lloyd still - somehow - knew what that phrase meant. He could still remember being ten, hiding in the flowerbeds while he waited for the prowling crowds of bullies to pass. Brad gave a small whistle and he - along with anyone else hiding in the flowers - would make their escape. 

Looking back, Lloyd scoffed and thought about how that was almost like unintentional training for him to be a ninja all along. 

Crossing the city on foot took him the better part of the afternoon. The skies overhead faded to amber and the first neon signs began to blink to life. Near the outskirts and the desert, a small cluster of dense trees formed around an overgrown park. 

He landed in the middle of a mossy path; there were rusty skeletons of playground equipment and old benches hidden with ivy and rust. Lloyd could still see the city past the canopy, but he wanted to pretend that he was somewhere else entirely. 

Walking through the old park, the ninja crouched by a jungle gym and brushed his hand against a painted daisy. The flower was almost lost among the gang tags and slurs, but it was clean against the old metal. A smile formed on his lips as soft memories began to resurface. 

Lloyd didn’t turn when he heard the sound of footsteps on dried leaves. “I think I was gardening the day you came in,” Brad said, “I think it was tulips.” 

“Lavenders too, and a tiger lily.” Lloyd corrected. “You tried so hard to keep it alive, but it died the next month.” 

“Yea, but it was still fun breaking into the shed to get the fertilizer. Smelled like shit, but it came in handy.” 

The ninja saw Brad reaching for something. Lloyd froze and drew a pair of knives. The other teen flinched hard and took a step back, raising both hands in the air. 

“Wait! Wait I promise I don’t wanna hurt you. I… I don’t - I can’t hurt you. I’m angry - frankly I’m fucking pissed - but I’m not angry at you. Not really.” 

“You should,” Lloyd said despondently, “I should’ve gone back for you guys sooner. I could have - “ 

“No, I know what happened to your friend - the one with the statue - and I get that you needed to grieve. And then those crazy snake cultists, then whatever happened with that museum director and your dad coming back and taking over the city,” Brad gave a hollow, tired laugh, “we really can’t catch a break, can we?” 

To his surprise, Lloyd smiled and mimicked his laugh. “No, we really fucking can’t.” 

“That’s the bastard I know.” He elbowed him playfully, the two taking a seat on the overgrown bench. “Maybe we’ll get the guys together and graffiti some assholes house, just like old times.” 

The green ninja mused the thought, but the image quickly soured. 

“I can’t.” He said weakly. “I’m the - “ 

Brad shook his head firmly. “You’re allowed to have a life, you’re not even an adult yet. Why should you have to deal with everything?” 

Lloyd had a plethora of answers to that - he was the Green Ninja, he was a leader, he needed to be responsible for Ninjagos safety - but when he looked up at Brad's confident resolve, all his arguments felt hollow. He decided that silence was a better answer anyways. But it still didn’t feel right. 

A soft blush rose to his cheeks. Lloyd reached out and the other automatically held out his hand.   
“Brad, I need to tell you something.” 

The other teen was blushing hard. “I know, but can I show you something first?” 

The ninja tried to peek behind at whatever Brad was hiding, but he hid it well in the downward facing cup of his hand. Turning it over and opening his palm, Lloyd gasped at the little wire bracelet in his palm. The wires itself were different colours and thickness, but crowning the top was a little green, glass bead. 

“Made it the day you came back.” Brad rubbed the back of his head. “I wanted to give it to you but… oh god I feel so bad for tying you up back then.” 

Lloyd laughed at the memory. “I’d rather get kidnapped by you than my uncles latest unresolved relationship.”   
Bran shook his head, carefully squeezing his hand. Lloyd held out his wrist and the bracelet was delicately tied closed. Looking up Brad’s sleeve, he noticed that there was a similar bracelet with a white bead pushed up his arm. 

He couldn’t help himself, Lloyd snickered. 

Brad looked down to his arm, then back to the other teen. His blush grew tenfold. “I missed you, okay!” 

His embarrassed expression just made Lloyd snort. “I missed having you around too.” 

He didn’t remember Brad being this close, now that Lloyd thought about it. Their shoulders were brushing and the other teen was rubbing loose circles over the top of his palm. Lloyd half expected something to disturb the moment, he didn’t think he’d be this lucky. 

His whole body grew tense. Closing his eyes, his breathing stopped when Brad finally kissed him. The touch lasted less than a second, but Lloyd could feel his eyes growing watery. Brad wordlessly wrapped a hand around his back and pressed his forehead to his shoulder. 

“I missed you.” He sobbed. “I’m so sorry, I don’t want to leave.” 

“Don’t be sorry, and don’t worry.” Brad hugged him close, Lloyd could feel his heart beating against his chest. “It’ll be - we’ll make this work. This is gonna work.” 

“Thank you.”

The green ninja practically jumped when he thought he heard the distant sound of sirens. He hoped he’d imagined it, but Brad soon stiffened and raised his head. “Shit, I didn’t think I’d left a trail.” 

“I led them here.” Lloyd stated. “They must’ve seen me come here. You need to go, they can’t find you.” 

“Hey, I said we’ll make this work. Right?” Brad wiped away a wet patch on Lloyd’s cheek. “I’ll find you again, I’m not gonna leave you. Not again, I promise.” 

“Please.” Lloyd swallowed his tears, holding onto Brads face with shaking hands.

Brad pressed another kiss to his forehead. The sounds of sirens was ringing louder in both their ears. 

The other teen broke away swiftly, pushing away debri that hid a mossy, cast iron grate and pried it open. He gave Lloyd one last glance, eyes filled with a sure determination. Lloyd gave a small wave and a fragile smile. 

He too disappeared before the authorities could find a trace of either of them. Leaning against the trunk of a tree, Lloyd watched them step past the near-invisible entrance and eventually clear the area after a few minutes of fruitless searching. 

“I’ll find you again.” He said to himself, looking up to the skies with the faintest expression of hope.


End file.
